Status-
There were other reasons not to accept the assignment. To devote the required time, I might have to quit my job. And my reputation and status would be jeopardized.
Status is not worth a hill of beans.
It’s your status with Me that counts. Jerry, you have great talent to give Me, to put in My service. Remember that it is not your talent, but Mine. I do not want to put you through unnecessary disruption. I have no desire to upset you or disrupt your life. But I need you to begin telling My word, My story. Not everyone can do this. You can. There are many fine voices, already testifying but they are not your voice. I need your voice too. You can offer something different. You can have a special mission, ministry, you’ll see.
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God: An Autobiography, As Told to a Philosopher – is the true story of a philosopher’s conversations with God. Dr. Jerry L. Martin, a lifelong agnostic. Dr. Martin served as head of the National Endowment for the Humanities and the University of Colorado philosophy department, is the founding chairman of the Theology Without Walls group at AAR, and editor of Theology Without Walls: The Transreligious Imperative. Dr. Martin’s work has prepared him to become a serious reporter of God’s narrative, experiences, evolution, autobiography and sparks of wisdom. In addition to scholarly publications, Dr. Martin has testified before Congress on educational policy, appeared on “World News Tonight,” and other television news programs
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Listen to this on God: An Autobiography, The Podcast– the dramatic adaptation and continuing discussion of the book God: An Autobiography, As Told To A Philosopher by Jerry L. Martin.
He was a lifelong agnostic, but one day he had an occasion to pray. To his vast surprise, God answered- in words. Being a philosopher, he had a lot of questions, and God had a lot to tell him.
Matt September 2, 2013
I should like to know what opinions, if any, you have on the work of people like Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, Raimon Panikkar, Thomas Merton, and most recently Ilia Delio. They all seem to be hinting at something quite similar to what you’re saying on this site.
Jerry L Martin September 6, 2013
Interesting connections to make, Matt. I had not read Merton or even heard
of Panikkar at the time but they became relevant after I had been told to
read the sacred writings of the world’s religions and pray about them.
Merton is a striking example of a serious, faithful Catholic who steeped
himself in another (Buddhist) tradition. Panikkar came to my attention when
he gave an interview about his dual commitment to Christianity and to
Hinduism. Did he believe in some kind of blend or synthesis of the two?
No, he replied, as a Christian, I am 100 percent Christian and, as a Hindu,
I am 100 percent Hindu. That paradoxical statement was something I would
have to think about.
I had only read a smattering of Teilhard but he is actually mentioned in the
book. I was asking whether nature, even physical matter, is in some sense
conscious. The answer was yes, in a sense closer to Teilhard’s interiority
of matter and Whitehead’s prehensions than Leibniz’s monads.
It is amazing, Matt, that, just from these early excerpts, you have come up
with three thinkers who do seem compatible, at least in some ways, with what
I have been told.